VanEck Waives Fee for Bitcoin ETF HODL - Seite 4

The further development and acceptance of digital asset networks, which is part of a new and rapidly changing industry, is subject to a variety of factors that are difficult to evaluate, the slowing, stopping or reversing of the development or acceptance of the digital asset networks may adversely affect the price of digital assets and therefore cause the Funds to suffer losses, regulatory changes or actions may alter the nature of an investment in digital assets or restrict the use of digital assets or the operations of the digital asset networks or venues on which digital assets trade in a manner that adversely affects the price of digital assets and, therefore, the Funds’s digital asset Futures. Digital assets generally operate without central authority (such as a bank) and are not backed by any government, digital assets are not legal tender and federal, state and/or foreign governments may restrict the use and exchange of digital assets, and regulation in the United States is still developing.

Futures Contract Risk. The use of futures contracts involves risks that are in addition to, and potentially greater than, the risks of investing directly in securities and other more traditional assets. The market for digital asset Futures may be less developed, and potentially less liquid and more volatile, than more established futures markets. Digital asset Futures are subject to collateral requirements and daily limits that may limit the Fund’s ability to achieve its target exposure. Margin requirements for digital asset Futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (“CME”) may be substantially higher than margin requirements for many other types of futures contracts. Futures contracts exhibit “futures basis,”” which refers to the difference between the current market value of the underlying digital asset (the “spot” price) and the price of the cash-settled futures contracts.

This risk may be adversely affected by “negative roll yields” in “contango” markets. The Funds will “roll” out of one futures contract as the expiration date approaches and into another futures contract on a digital asset with a later expiration date. The “rolling” feature creates the potential for a significant negative effect on the Fund’s performance that is independent of the performance of the spot prices of the digital asset. A market where futures prices are generally greater than spot prices is referred to as a “contango” market. Therefore, if the futures market for a given commodity is in contango, then the value of a futures contract on that commodity would tend to decline over time (assuming the spot price remains unchanged), because the higher futures price would fall as it converges to the lower spot price by expiration. Extended period of contango may cause significant and sustained losses.